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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · bear · branch · fall · deal · march · kick · court

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. branch — a division
  3. court — of a king
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — to drop
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. march — the month
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. kick — in football
  11. fall — the season
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of law
  14. cold — an illness
  15. deal — to handle
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. court — for sport
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com